by Cara Lumen
I’ve been working on my Magnetic Marketing Method series which is a collection of individually packaged marketing techniques that allows you pick the one you want to learn when you want to learn it. But I found one concept that has to be included in every marketing strategy we use that I think is easy to lose sight of as we immerse ourselves in the details.
Why are you in business?
No, it’s not about making a living. It’s not about making something, or selling something, or doing something. Those are surface things. What is underneath? What is driving you? What is the passion, the core need you must express that is being satisfied by your work? What makes your life better because you are doing it?
Kahlil Gibran says, “When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.”
It takes the involvement of your heart to create your business. Gibran suggests, “It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit.”
Wow! I’m not certain I do that as well as I might.
Passion is your foundation
Why do you want to be in the business you are in? What do you love about it? How will your life change once you shape it the way you envision?
Sometimes it takes time for our true passion to become visible. Although I think that everything happens for a reason, it feels like I sort of fell into being an internet marketing coach. I kept studying and learning wonderful things about marketing myself on the internet and one day I thought, “Hey, I sure know a lot about this. I can help others understand it too.” So my business shifted into that niche. And I love it.
But I also love to learn. And then I get excited about sharing it with others. That makes me a teacher at my core. That is the passion that drives all I do. Can you see how simple designing your business becomes when you can identify your core passion?
Keep building on your passion
If you are like me, you have many things you love to do and you are good at them. So how do you choose? How do you keep building your business on your true passion?
By comparison. As each new idea presents itself, hold it up to your core passion. Is this as close to living my passion as I can get? How can I change this idea to get even closer? For instance, I write. I love to write. And it is the most satisfying when I can use that writing skill to teach. Yes, I use it to write web content and sales pages, but my whole being is engaged when I create something that helps others learn. So now, one of the facets of my coaching is that people learn why they are making certain decisions and they can then go repeat what they have learned in other circumstances. I’m a teaching coach. I’ve brought my passion into my business.
List three reasons you are in business
Write down at least three reasons you are in business. Ignore the physical plane results. Go deep within. Look for the heart of your passion. That’s why you are in business. That’s why the hours you spend at work are like play. As Gibran says, “Work is love made visible.”
You passion is the power behind the success of your business. It’s what attracts people to you. Don’t leave it out. Make its presence known in every aspect of your business.
©2007 Cara Lumen